The problem of domestic violence can be particularly difficult to address in regional Australia where fewer services and a lack of anonymity in small towns make some women reluctant to seek help. One group in Bundaberg is hoping to address the problem through theatre, writes Cathy Pryor.

When Genevieve Houston performs the words of women who have suffered at the hands of domestic violence, the air remains still.

'I didn't know. I didn't know he was doing that. It wasn't til later that I've found out.'

The reality is that often the perpetrators of domestic violence can present as the life of the party, everyone's best friend, a great bloke.

Genevieve Houston, performer

The words are part of a play that will be performed in November this year, the culmination of a three year project by the Bundaberg based arts group Creative Regions. They interviewed a dozen people for the piece, including some male perpetrators. The interviews form the basis of a half-hour performance, titled It All Begins With Love, that the creators hope will lift the lid on domestic violence in the town.

Rod Ainsworth, a producer with Creative Regions, says the group decided to tackle the topic when one of the organisation's board members suggested 'there was no bigger issue than domestic violence'. He believes the stories in the play are the 'tip of the iceberg'.

'Children were involved in most of the stories,' says Ainsworth.

'We had one woman come to us off the street who had a story from her childhood, so she presented her story as a child, which was completely contrasting to the experiences of women who had experienced violence towards them in a relationship.'

'We heard from a number of perpetrators who were men, and I suppose we found there was a common way that those people were talking to us about this issue. We wanted to include men's voices but we really felt that in the end we wouldn't want men to be on the stage.'

Ms Houston is one of five women who will perform the stories in the play. She works at Relationships Australia and the Family Relationships Centre in Bundaberg as a family dispute resolution practitioner. She says the experience of women who face domestic violence in regional Australia is complicated by a lack of anonymity in smaller towns, conservative attitudes and the stigma attached to speaking out against violence.

'The reality is that often the perpetrators of domestic violence can present as the life of the party, everyone's best friend, a great bloke,' she says.

'So there is that reluctance, or not thinking you will be believed when you speak out.'

Heather Nancarrow is the CEO of the National Centre of Excellence to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children ,which has its official launch on Friday, May 16. The commonwealth, state and territory governments signed up to a 12 year national plan to tackle domestic violence in 2010. Even so, Ms Nancarrow says more work needs to be done.

'Particularly given the recent spate of domestic homicides, we really need to look at what is happening around the country in terms of the establishment of domestic violence death review processes.'

'The idea of those is they bring together stakeholders and people with expertise and knowledge in this area to review cases of domestic homicide to identify how the system can respond better to prevent deaths in the future.'

Ms Nancarrow says there is a culture in Australia where violence is to some degree tolerated and she says 'we can't achieve the goals of the National Plan without every individual Australian taking on board what role they have to play in ending violence against women.'

She says that projects like the Bundaberg play can have a very powerful ripple effect in prompting discussions about the issue.

Ms Houston agrees. She says that for the women who shared their stories, the process was often traumatic, but in the long term she believes it was' an empowering step'. However, she says that while these women 'were in a place where they could share their stories, the harsh reality is that there are many women out there who aren't'.

'Maybe (this play) has given me a bit more hope in terms of getting the message out there in as many different ways that we can,' she says.

'It is really important for people to have those conversations and decide as a community what they are going to do to go about stopping this.'